California law imposes a penalty when a DUI defendant refuses to submit to or complete a chemical test to detect the presence of alcohol or controlled substances. In Kern County, the penalty takes two forms (1) a suspension or revocation of the person's driving privilege, and (2) the use at trial of the fact that the individual refused to submit to a breath or blood test upon his or her arrest for DUI. The predominant use of the refusal in the criminal Court proceedings is to prove a "consciousness of guilt" and allows the D.A. to seek mandatory jail time.

The prosecution will claim that if the defendant had nothing ti hide he or she would have submitted to the requested tests. In many refusal cases, however, the accused does not get a fair shake by the cop that arrested him or her. For a variety of reasons, the police or CHP officer may confuse the DUI suspect, misinform them of the state requirements, treated them disrespectfully prior to the request and in some cases even lie to the detained individual.

The DMV consequences of a finding of refusal are indeed severe, as a result, it is imperative to request a DMV hearing as soon as possible following the defendant's release from jail. A formal hearing will allow for a full challenge of the arresting officer's conclusions regarding the alleged "refusal" to take a breath or blood test.

A DUI Attorney that fights refusals can, in many cases present a recognized defense or explanation of the reasons behind the fact that no chemical test was taken or completed. Many defenses involve possible physical or medical reasons or can simple be a case of unlawful conduct on the part of law enforcement such as an illegal stop or arrest. Each DUI Refusal case has issues that can form the basis of a defense, a Kern County DUI Lawyer can explain the legal requirements the state must prove as well as any affirmative defenses that are present.

A refusal can lead to a revocation of a drivers license for up to 3 years. For those who depend on their ability to drive the decision to fight a petition of a refusal should be obvious. Incidentally, the DMV does not consider a person's "need" for a license at the DMV hearing. Only well established defenses will lead to a set aside of the suspension, a skilled DUI refusal attorney is therefore essential to avoid the consequences of driving on a suspended license down the road.